The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 375 - 107: Dying Without Regrets

Bill Walton replaced Jones, and Gan Guoyang made the bonus free throw.

72:81, the Trail Blazers re-established a 9-point lead.

After scoring, Guoyang high-fived Walton, saying, "You’re okay, Bill."

Walton shook his head silently and jogged back to defense, causing Guoyang’s heart to sink.

He immediately guessed Walton was playing through an injection, or else he couldn’t have returned to the court so suddenly.

The exchange of expressions between the two was sharply captured by Bird who, while inbounding the ball, quickly said to Parrish, "Attack Walton, he’s injured."

In the NBA, if you have an injury, the opponent will not sympathize with you, but will exploit your weakness and attack aggressively.

Parrish immediately posted up near the basket, Bird made an accurate pass to Parrish, who turned and went strong against Walton!

Though the injection temporarily blocked the pain, Walton’s movement was still affected by the injury; he couldn’t keep up with Parrish’s pace.

However, Walton deflected the ball with a chop, sending Parrish’s ball out of bounds. It was still the Celtics’ possession, but Parrish’s plan to go one-on-one with Walton failed.

"Don’t try to target me, Robert, don’t think about it," muttered Walton to Parrish, making Parrish very uncomfortable.

The Chieftain was the worst performer in this series of games, being troubled by the Trail Blazers’ powerful frontcourt.

On the baseline inbounds, Bird passed to Parrish again, but Parrish didn’t dare make his move, and after one bump, he passed out to the perimeter.

Dennis Johnson was the one who dared to shoot. Receiving the ball at mid-range, he shot but missed, and Walton, boxing out Parrish, jumped for the rebound with great effort!

His expression showed some pain but he endured it, passing the ball to Drexler, who was also inspired by Walton.

Using a pick-and-roll with Guoyang at the top of the key, Drexler attacked the basket with vigor, challenging Parrish and scoring with a layup!

72:83, the lead was back to 11 points!

The Celtics, sensing danger, immediately called a timeout.

Walton’s return completely disrupted the Celtics’ game plan.

Moreover, Parrish, underperforming, failed to score on Walton and instead allowed the Trail Blazers to counterattack.

The entire Memorial Coliseum was steaming with heat, players were drenched in sweat, and a fervent atmosphere enveloped everyone.

The Celtics didn’t give up; after the timeout, Marques Johnson received a pass from Bird and hit a three-pointer!

Marques was known for hitting some miraculous shots, and Bird’s assists for the evening had now reached 11.

Unable to score himself, he became a point forward, fully committed to supplying his teammates with ammunition.

The Trail Blazers on offense, Walton came out high to coordinate the play. Bird closely marked Walton, attacking the part of Walton’s ankle that had been twisted.

Walton avoided contact, mustering the strength to throw the ball to the interior. The pass wasn’t good, but Guoyang still grabbed it among several players and turned to attack the basket!

At that moment, no fancy moves or feints were needed, just aggressive force—if the shot didn’t go in, they’d grab the rebound and try again, with a high chance of drawing a foul.

Indeed, Jack Madden called a defensive foul on Parrish, who was extremely frustrated; that was his fifth foul.

But there was no choice, Guoyang’s inside dominance was just that strong. Standing on the free-throw line, Guoyang made both shots.

Bird quickly pushed the counterattack, controlling the ball across the half-court line.

This way, he kept Guoyang around the three-point line before moving the ball to the weak side.

Marques Johnson received the ball and, after a fake, broke powerfully to the basket, pushing past Walton and scoring with a layup.

There was no stopping that; Marques had a very sharp penetration that was difficult to defend.

77:85, the Celtics were closely trailing the score.

On the defensive end, the Celtics once again triple-teamed Guoyang.

Guoyang passed out to the perimeter, Walton directed from the middle, giving the ball to Drexler on the baseline.

Drexler attacked from the baseline and went strong to the basket, taking off against Parrish and knocking him over.

Parrish, who already had five fouls, risked being disqualified by fouling the "Glider" on his offensive drive.

Jack Madden was lenient with the call, and the Celtics seized the opportunity to counterattack.

Bird still organized the offense from the perimeter, McHale no longer insisted on a strong post-up.

Instead, he circled behind, used a screen by Parrish, and went to the basket, receiving a precise pass from Bird.

McHale quickly turned for a fadeaway jumper, and the shot went in—79:85, and another assist for Bird.

Ramsay called a timeout, feeling the team’s offense was somewhat stiff.

Constantly letting Guoyang face triple teams was not sustainable; they had to make better use of Guoyang as a point of attack.

"Bill, can you still attack the post?"

During the timeout, Walton nodded, indicating no problem.

Coming back from the timeout, Walton began posting up, while Guoyang moved to the high post to escape from the surround.

Drexler passed the ball to Walton, and Walton went strong against Parrish with a very forced turnaround hook shot.

Struggling to power through because of his ankle, he tossed the ball towards the basket in an awkward position, avoiding a block.

Miraculously, the ball spun around the rim and fell in!

The Memorial Coliseum erupted in madness; Walton had managed to score in the post!

Nonetheless, the Celtics remained undisturbed, with Bird calmly dishing out assists.

An Ji, who had come off the bench, used a screen to catch the ball and hit a three-pointer!

82:87, the gap was narrowed to 5 points, and then both teams went back and forth, with the score climbing alternately.

As time ticked by, with the score at 88:93, every shot became critically important.

Then, Bird used a feint to break toward the basket and, despite being covered by Guoyang, made a clever behind-the-back pass to McHale, who had cut in.

McHale received the ball and finished with a one-handed dunk!

90:93, the gap narrowed to just three points.

Ramsay still held onto the last two timeouts, not daring to use them lightly.

At this moment, Walton was knocked down by Parrish during the offense, the ball slipping from his hands and snatched by Bird.

The referee didn’t call a foul—it was unclear if Parrish did it on purpose—a chorus of boos filled the arena.

Bird calmly initiated the counterattack, sending a long pass to the frontcourt, where An Ji dodged with a feint and went for the basket.

Then, as Gan Guoyang came up to defend, he passed it to Marques Johnson, who scored with a left-handed layup!

92:93, the gap was only one point! Ramsay considered calling a timeout.

Walton managed to get up from the ground, limping slightly, and shouted to Ramsay: "Don’t call the timeout yet!"

After speaking, Walton immediately re-engaged in the offense, setting a screen for Drexler at the high post, rolling down and drawing the defense.

Then Drexler suddenly made a behind-the-back pass to Parkson, who passed the ball right back to Gan Guoyang at the 45-degree wing.

Gan Guoyang took a three-point shot from the perimeter! The ball swished through the net! A highly critical and lethal three-pointer, originated from Walton’s high-quality screen that drew in the defense.

92:96, the Trail Blazers breathed a sigh of relief, with Gan Guoyang having scored 46 points, and his energy consumption in the fourth quarter was also tremendous.

First, he had not rested for a single minute; second, he had been tightly marking Bird the entire game, not daring to slack off. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

While Bird kept using breakthroughs, passes, and fast breaks to drain and hold down Gan Guoyang, he was also near exhaustion.

Both sides were in a life-and-death struggle, depleting each other, to see who could last till the end.

The Celtics started a desperate three-point play, with Marques Johnson catching the ball on the perimeter and going for another three-pointer.

It didn’t go in, but without Gan Guoyang under the basket, Walton didn’t get the rebound; McHale grabbed it and passed to Bird.

Bird faked a move and then stopped abruptly to shoot a three-pointer, which was still missed due to Gan Guoyang’s interference.

McHale grabbed another rebound and took a jump shot, which he made, scoring a total of 28 points that night, the highest for the Celtics.

94:96, the Trail Blazers couldn’t relax even a bit, with just over one minute left in the game.

Ramsay used one timeout, needing to set up a key offense.

If they scored this ball, the Trail Blazers would almost certainly win; if they didn’t, they might get overtaken.

Ramsay still planned to get the ball to Walton, with Gan Guoyang ready to act at the top of the arc and the 45-degree area.

The final endpoint was Walton passing the ball to Gan Guoyang; their cooperation was crucial.

It was the bayonet-fighting stage, with the Celtics having played an intense defense for half of the game.

McHale stuck close to Gan Guoyang, making it almost impossible for the Trail Blazers to pass the ball.

Thompson threw the ball towards Gan Guoyang, who jockeyed for position, outmuscling his opponent to jump and catch the ball.

Having secured the ball, he followed the play and passed it to Walton; the Celtics didn’t double-team, of course.

Gan Guoyang and Drexler ran the play, but got tangled up by the Celtics’ players, and the play didn’t come off.

Walton was forced to take a tough shot, using his uninjured ankle for support, he spun and took a jump shot!

The ball bounced on the rim, and Walton thought to himself that this wasn’t a good shot—he had to go for the rebound.

At that moment, Gan Guoyang soared in, over the heads of Parrish and McHale, and with both hands, slammed the ball into the basket!

Normally composed, Gan Guoyang roared triumphantly after landing the basket, raising his arms skyward, as the entire Memorial Coliseum descended into utter madness.

94:98, with less than a minute left and a four-point difference, it was tough for the Celtics.

KC Jones called a timeout, and Gan Guoyang and Walton tightly embraced, heading off the court to the bench.

Joy overpowered pain, but Walton still told his teammates: "The game isn’t over yet, we can’t let our guard down, keep up the defense, this is the last step tonight!"

Everyone controlled their emotions, knowing the opponent was the Celtics, and indeed, no relaxation was permissible—it was the final showdown.

The Celtics ran a quick offense play, with Bird faking a shot and making a cross pass to Dennis Johnson cutting through the middle.

Johnson received the ball, drove to the basket to attempt a layup when Walton suddenly appeared, swatting the ball from Johnson’s hands with a massive block!

A scuffle ensued under the basket, but finally Thompson clutched the ball, forcing the Celtics to foul.

Thompson high-fived Walton, knowing that they had likely seized the game.

With Thompson sinking both free throws, the score reached 94:100, only fewer than 20 seconds left in the game.

After Bird quickly inbounded the ball, he launched a quick three-pointer, finally hitting it!

97:100, the Celtics still had a chance.

He finally scored in the second half, totalling 11 points for the game, reaching double figures.

But at that moment, it was too little too late, and when Gan Guoyang took possession of the ball, Bird came up to commit a foul.

Gan Guoyang stepped up to the free throw line, sunk both shots, reaching 50 points for the game!

The crowd chanted MVP, the cheers and screams growing louder, and as Marques Johnson’s final forced shot missed, the score froze at 97:102!

The whole Memorial Coliseum erupted, and although they hadn’t won the championship yet, the crowd went wild, rushing onto the court and surrounding the Trail Blazers players.

The Trail Blazers relished the moment of victory, Walton loudly asking Gan Guoyang, "Did we win the championship, Ah Gan?"

Gan Guoyang replied, "Not yet, we’re one game short!"

Walton laughed, saying, "Sonny, I might not be able to play the last game, but I have no regrets, even if I die."

Gan Guoyang, looking at Walton, asserted firmly, "We will definitely bring the championship back, definitely."

That night, Portland was sleepless, but Walton slept soundly, dreaming of the feverish championship scene at Memorial Coliseum in 1977.

He also dreamed of a majestic lion.